Business Live: Oil keeps rising

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Johnston Press confirms rescue plan

Johnston Press has confirmed that it plans to file for administration. But it says, pending court approval, its lenders will buy the firm and trading will continue as normal.

"It is envisaged that, subject to the orders being made, all of the Group's businesses and substantially all of the Group's assets will then be sold to a newly-incorporated group of companies controlled by the holders of the Bonds. Holders representing the required majority of the Bonds have contractually agreed to support this transaction. The Group believes this is the best remaining option available as it will preserve the jobs of the Group's employees and ensure that the Group's businesses will be carried on as normal. The Group hopes that this transfer will be completed within the next 24 hours," it says.

Mixed day for Wall Street

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The S&P 500 swung between gains and losses following conflicting statements by the US President on a trade deal with China, while weakness in chipmaker Nvidia weighed on the Nasdaq.

President Donald Trump said the US may not have to impose further tariffs on China, but added the situation was still not acceptable to him.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.95 points, or 0.49%, to 25,413.22, the S&P 500 gained 5.94 points, or 0.22% to 2,736.14, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 11.16 points, or 0.15%, to 7,247.87.

Johnston Press 'assessing offers'

In response to the Telegraph story, Johnston Press says: “The board is assessing offers made under the formal sales process and will make an announcement in due course.”

Johnston Press 'on brink of administration'

BBC

Regional publisher Johnston Press, the publisher of newspapers including the 'i', The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, is on the brink of administration, according to the Telegraph.

The troubled regional publisher put itself up for sale in October, with all or parts of the group available to buy.

It is struggling under the weight of debt, pension obligations and worsening advertising conditions.

It is one of the largest local and regional newspaper organisations in the UK, but has a £220m bond which is due for repayment in June next year.

Why is food bank use rising?

BBC

The Economist reckons increasing use of food banks and incidences of malnutrition in the UK are in part down to cuts to benefits and rising housing and heating costs.

But it's also in part down to the rise of the gig economy, the article says.

"Low-earners’ income has become less secure following the spread of zero-hours contracts and the gig economy.

"Measures of poverty usually count annual income, so would not register a rise in the number of people going a few weeks without pay," the article adds.

'Virgin charged me an outrageous sum'

John Jones was charged a £240 break fee despite being with Virgin for seven years.

John Jones tells the BBC he was charged a £240 contract break fee despite being with Virgin Media for seven years.

RBS no longer a big bank

PA

Royal Bank of Scotland was once one of the biggest banks in the world. It needed a £45bn taxpayer bailout to prevent it collapsing during the financial crisis, and as part of the deal it had to shrink.

Now, ten years on, the Edinburgh-based bank is no longer classified as a "global systemically important bank" having fallen off the list of 30 or so banks regarded as posing a risk to the financial system.

Not being on the list - which is compiled by the Financial Stability Board, an international body which oversees the global financial system - means that RBS will not be required to hold an extra wedge of capital.

"We note this decision by the FSB which reflects our progress in building a much simpler, safer UK-focused bank," said RBS which 62% owned by taxpayers.

Its shares, caught up in anxiety about the impact of Brexit, are down 3%.

Google Cloud boss steps down

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Google Cloud boss Diane Greene has announced she will be leaving the firm.

She will be replaced by former Oracle product boss Thomas Kurian.

Ms Greene has been at the centre of various rows over military contracts.

Ireland has no plans to prepare infrastructure for hard border

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Ireland has no plans to start preparing infrastructure for a possible hard border with Northern Ireland, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney says.

"What we are not doing is putting contingency plans in place that would result in border infrastructure between the two jurisdictions on this island. Surely we have learned lessons from the past," Mr Coveney told reporters at his Fine Gael party's annual conference.

He said if it looked as though Britain were heading towards a no-deal departure from the European Union then direct discussions on how to avoid a hard border would be required.

Mr Coveney added that those talks would not be easy.

S&P, Dow rise after Trump comments on trade

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The S&P 500 and the Dow gained on Friday, after US President Donald Trump said that the US may not need to impose further tariffs on Chinese imports as the world's two largest economies continue to work on an agreement to eliminate trade tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 171.44 points to 25,460.71, the S&P 500 gained 9.66 points, rising to 2,739.86 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 9.01 points, to 7,250.03.

Major UK home care provider is seeking to transfer or sell all its contracts to other providers

Germany prepare for 'hard Brexit'

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Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has said preparations need to continue for a hard Brexit.

"One has to prepare for this variant...But we will do everything we can to avoid it."

FTSE 100 slips

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The FTSE 100 has slipped 0.12% at the close to 7029.29 amid continuing Brexit political turmoil.

Royal Bank of Scotland was again one of the top fallers on the index, closing down 3.26%, due to its exposure to the UK economy.

'Total despair' across Conservative Party

Who is Stephen Barclay?

UK Parliament

The UK's new Brexit secretary is a junior health minister who voted to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, according to Reuters.

A spokesman told Reuters that Theresa May herself would personally oversee the last 10 days of negotiations with the EU on the future framework, and that Mr Barclay would focus on the UK's domestic preparedness for Brexit and getting Mrs May's draft withdrawal agreement through parliament.

Mr Barclay will replace Brexiter Dominic Raab who quit as Brexit minister on Thursday over Mrs May's draft plan for leaving the EU.

New Brexit Secretary appointed

BreakingUK competition watchdog opens investigation into financial services

Britain's competition watchdog has opened an investigation into "suspected anti-competitive arrangements" in the financial services sector.

"The case is at an early stage and no assumption should be made at this point that competition law has been infringed," the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement.

The CMA declined to give further detail on the investigation that is looking at conduct in relation to certain types of financial products.

The CMA declined to say if the investigation is focusing on a particular institution or market segment.

CBI: Draft Brexit deal is 'hard won progress'

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Business group the CBI has urged MPs not to "go backwards" after the publication of the draft Brexit deal.

It says businesses want to avoid a "no deal cliff edge" and open "a route to a good long-term trade deal".

Amber Rudd back in the Cabinet

Amber Rudd, who resigned as Home Secretary in April, is back in the Cabinet as Work and Pensions secretary.

FTSE flat

The FTSE 100 has started to recover some of the day's losses as it heads for the close.

Down as much as 0.8% earlier, the index is now little changed at 7,025.90, down 12.11 points or 0.1%.

Sterling, which had its worse day since 2016 during Thursday's political turmoil, is rebounding.

It is up 0.6% against the dollar at $1.2851.